Part 13

Wild Carrot. Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), the ancestor of the garden carrot, was introduced from Europe and may be found in scattered places over the state. It is a larger plant than the beggar’s ticks, with very wide-spreading and dainty flower clusters. It does not bloom until summer.

Wild Dill. Prairie Parsley (Pleiotaenia nuttallii) is a conspicuous plant on prairies throughout the state and ranges to Michigan and Alabama. The flowers bloom in April and May, and the seeds mature and fall in June and July. The stiff, stout stems, commonly two feet high, become dry and brown but remain standing through the winter months. The upper leaves are not divided so much as the lower, which are deeply divided and have broad segments. The flowers are small and greenish-yellow and grow in clusters about 2 inches broad.

The foliage and seeds were used for seasoning by pioneers. It is very much like the cultivated dill (Anethum graveolens), a native of Southeastern Europe. The latter is taller and has leaves with threadlike divisions.

Other well-known members of the carrot family include the parsnip, parsley, myrrh, chervil, caraway, and celery. The well-known poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), by which Socrates met his death, is a native of Europe but may now be found in North and South America. It grows in great abundance along the streams of the Edwards Plateau between Fredricksburg and Austin.

HEATH FAMILY (Ericaceae)

Herbs or shrubs; sepals 4-5; corolla urn-shaped or cylindric, 4-5-lobed; stamens 8 or 10; anthers opening by terminal pores; ovary superior or inferior.

Tree-Huckleberry. Farkleberry (Batodendron arboreum) is also known as upland-huckleberry, sparkleberry, and gooseberry. The name is Greek and means “blackberry tree.” The huckleberries are often placed in a family separate from other heaths. The tree-huckleberry is a shrub or small tree, very abundant in the woods of East Texas and the Southern States. The dainty, drooping sprays of white bell-shaped flowers remind one of the lily-of-the-valley. The shining oval leaves are short-stalked, 1-2 in. long. The black berries are not edible.

Well-known members of the heath family include the trailing arbutus, cranberry, blueberry, bean-berry, winter-green, rhododendron, and azalea. Thickets of the pink azalea or swamp-honeysuckle (Azalea nudiflora) occur in a few places in East Texas. In the mountains of Southwest Texas may be found the arbutus-tree, madroña, or naked Indian, so called because of its red wood and scaling bark. Its small, red fleshy fruits look like strawberries. Stagger-bush (Neopieris mariana) is a common shrub in swampy places.

PRIMROSE FAMILY (Primulaceae)

Leaves often basal; sepals usually 5, often leafy; corolla tubular, 5-lobed; stamens 5, opposite the petals; ovary superior; fruit a capsule.

Texas Water-Pimpernel. Brookweed (Samolus cuneatus) is a plant found wherever springs or moist ledges occur in limestone hills of Texas. The plants have a basal rosette of broad rounded leaves. The slender stems are 6-12 inches high and bear a few leaves which are narrowed at the base. The 5-lobed white flowers are short and bell-shaped and appear from April to September. The pink water-pimpernel (Samolus ebracteatus) grows in sandy soil along the coast.

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon stanfieldia) is a rare plant and should be afforded protection. It is found in rich, moist soil from Central Texas to Louisiana. The flowers are very much like those of Dodecatheon meadia but are larger and have broader petals.

The primrose family is represented in horticulture by many primroses from Asia, cyclamens from Greece to Syria, and the cowslip from Europe. The scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) is found on sandy prairies in South Texas in the spring.

EBONY FAMILY (Ebenaceae)

Trees or shrubs; leaves usually leathery; calyx 3-11-lobed; petals united, 3-7; stamens 6-14, or more; ovary superior.

Mexican Persimmon (Diospyros texana) is also called ’possum plum, “chapote,” and black persimmon. It is a shrub or small tree found in river-valleys and on limestone hills from Central Texas to Mexico. It may be easily recognized by its smooth, light-gray bark, small leaves, and creamy heath-like flowers. The bell-shaped flowers are in dense clusters on the tree which has pollen-bearing flowers, whereas the seed-bearing flowers, which grow on a separate tree, are larger and fewer in number. The black fruits ripen in August, when the pulp becomes juicy but somewhat insipid.

The black wood is hard and, like other species of ebony, takes an excellent polish. It is used for making tools. The Mexicans use a black dye obtained from the fruits in dyeing sheep-skins. The common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is found wild from Connecticut to East Texas, where the sprouts are vicious pests in plowed lands.

GENTIAN FAMILY (Gentianaceae)

Leaves opposite; calyx usually tubular, 5-lobed; petals united at base, 4-12; stamens as many as petals; ovary superior.

Mountain Pink. Showy Centaury (Erythraea beyrichii) grows on gravelly limestone hills in Texas and Arkansas. The stems are branched near the base and often form hemispherical clumps a foot in diameter which are covered with pink flowers in June. The plants are being rapidly exterminated for ornamental purposes, for they are very showy and the flowers will last two weeks or more. The flowers have a united tubular corolla with 5 lobes.

The scientific name is from the Greek meaning “red.” The flowers of some species are red, but those in Texas are pink. The Texan centaury (Erythraea texense) is a very small plant with small flowers. It is found from Texas to Missouri in June and July. Buckley’s centaury or pink gentian (Erythraea calycosa) is found in moist soil in the western part of the state. It is a tall, slender plant 1-2 ft. high. It ranges from Missouri to Mexico. The centaury plants were formerly valued as a medicine for fever. They were gathered and dried at flowering time.

Purple Gentian. Bluebell (Eustoma russellianum) is also called Russell’s eustoma, Texas bluebell, blue gentian, blue marsh lily, and bosque blue gentian. The latter name is used in El Paso, where the purple gentian grows on the flood plain of the Rio Grande River. It is one of the loveliest flowers in the state, sometimes occurring in great profusion on moist prairies from Mexico to Colorado and Louisiana. It is especially abundant in Southeast Texas, where it is gathered in wholesale quantities by florists. It is an excellent cut-plant, the flowers lasting for several days and new buds continually opening.

Few people have had success in transplanting the purple gentian into their gardens. Only recently has there been a report of seeds successfully germinated. It is said that soaking for 48 hours in water will produce germination. Each flower produces a number of very minute seeds.

The large, bell-shaped flowers, 2-3 inches broad, are a bluish-purple; in fading, they spread widely and take on more of the blue tinge. They are constricted into a short narrow tube at the base. Inside, the flowers are marked with yellow at the base and have purple markings in the throat. The five stamens with large anthers are attached to the corolla tube. At the time the pollen is shed, the anthers lie in a horizontal position around the style. The stigmas are interesting. There are two diamond-shaped lobes which are erect until they are ready to receive pollen, and then they take a horizontal position. The calyx has five linear lobes which are united at the base with a colorless membrane. The oblong capsules are about half an inch long.

The plants are very smooth and are erect, with a few erect branches. The leaves are ovate-oblong and are usually 1-2½ inches long.

“Eustoma” means “open mouth”, referring to the large throat of the flower. The smaller bluebell in Southern Texas and Northern Mexico is Eustoma gracile.

Pink Texas Star. Prairie Sabbatia (Sabbatia campestris) is also known as meadow pink, rose pink, pink prairie gentian, marsh pink, and sea star. It ranges from Missouri and Kansas to Texas and is found on moist prairies throughout Central Texas from April to June. It is particularly abundant on southern coastal prairies where it makes a showy landscape display with phlox, coreopsis, and other plants in March and April. The sabbatias are named in honor of two Italian botanists, L. and C. Sabbati.

The plants are low, 3-12 inches high, and have wing-angled stems and short smooth leaves about ½-1¼ inches long. The flowers are about 1½ inches broad, much larger than those of the mountain pink, and more cup-shaped. They are usually deep pink in color, but purplish-pink and white forms may occasionally be noted. Around the throat are yellow, star-shaped markings over the white base of the petals. The long, linear calyx lobes are quite conspicuous when the flower is in bud or after the corolla has wilted.